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May 16, 2009

Long time, no post! I have been a busy bee with working 3 full days per week as a Children's Social Worker again, pretending to be a "stay at home mom" on the other 4 days of the week and running our business, Polka Dot Whale! My little Emme-Em is blossoming into the most delightful little toddler girl. She is just about outgrown her nursery (just in time for our move), so I am having fun dreaming up some little changes I might make over the next several months at I decorate her new toddler room...

First, I am fantasizing about making a twin size quilt for her big girl bed. It's a good thing we don't need that right away, because I don't think I'll be making it by June 1st! I may not ever make it, for that matter. May have to call in some crafty resources on this one;) Aside from that practical point, the reason I want to make a quilt is the inspiration of Heather Bailey's Pop Garden fabric line. I have followed Heather's Blog for over a year now and this fabric collection just speaks to me! The Sugarmallow colorway, with bright pinks, lime greens and aqua blue is so perfect for a cheerful little girl's room and matches so many of the little birdie items I have picked up for Emme's room since before she was born. We are big fans of the Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chairs and Emme has about worn out and outgrown her little My First Anywhere Chair in red gingham. Toddlers love to have a chair to call their own and are so comfy taking a seat to read a book or watch a television program (we have heard--because we certainly do not do any of that tv watching at our house;))! This bright pink polkadot circular version of the Anywhere Chair is calling my name and Emme always makes a bee-line for it when we hit up our local Pottery Barn Kids for playtime. If you aren't already aware, PB Kids makes an excellent spot for 30 or more minutes of playtime on a weekday morning or afternoon. They are pretty open to letting the kids play with the play kitchens, rocking horses, anywhere chairs, stuffed animals, and doll strollers. Emme is delighted by every visit!Seeing as we'll be leaving Emme's former wall decal graphics by Elephannie behind at our old house, I've got my eye on the Big Funky Tree Decal, also by Elephannie. These wall decals look like paint at first glance (and second and third...) and really jazz up a little one's play space without doing anything permanent to the walls. Change up the decals as tastes and themes and colors change, without too much trouble or expense! The Big Funky Tree Decal stands 50 inches tall for just $42!

March 10, 2009

My baby girl is two...not so much a baby as a toddler/preschooler, but "my baby", nonetheless;) Ten of Emme's best toddler/preschooler friends joined our family for a Neverland Birthday Celebration of Pixies & Pirates! The girls donned pixie wings and the boys were supposed to don pirate hats (note the "supposed to" part)....I was worried they'd feel left out of the pixie madness, but found that toddler boys are happy to run and play and explore and aren't so big on "dress up!" I strung the backyard with colorful paper lanterns from www.lunabazaar.com and covered the tables in lime green and fuschia linens with lavender Tinkerbell wrapping paper runners (I will take all the credit for that idea!). The best budget pixie wings were found on ebay and were worth every penny when it came to the adorable photos of the winged little girls running about. The magical birthday surprise came when our real-life Tinkerbell entertainer arrived (If you live in Southern California, check out www.partiesbyerin.net)! Emme was absolutely enthralled by Tinkerbell's presence at her party and the girls (*note that boys are also not into song & dance with a live entertainer*) twirled and danced and watched with delight as Tinkerbell painted faces, sang, put on a puppet show, and made balloon animals. Emme sat so still for her face to be painted and took full advantage of each of Tinkerbell's 60 minutes! We adults were amazed that the children all gathered 'round and took a seat for an echanted luncheon of star-shaped peanut butter sandwiches, fruit cups & pirates booty. You can't beat the kid's size table and chairs from www.classicpartyrentals.com. It makes all the difference in getting the kids to take a seat. After lunch and some coloring on pirate placemats from www.birthdayinabox.com, Emme was presented with her Tinkerbell birthday cake from www.rossmoorpastries.com and the kids devoured their mini cupcakes (made by Mom)! Emme was just as delighted by the sight of her cake as she was with the real-live Tinkerbell! It was a truly magical day that absolutely filled by heart with joy as I watched my daughter take in her birthday surprises, one after another, with such innocent delight....at this age, they expect nothing, are truly surprised, take in exactly what is before them, with no thought for what might be missing....it was all perfect in her eyes (and mine)! Our happiness continued through the weekend and Emme continually looked up at me and declared, "Happy, Happy, Happy!"

February 01, 2009

Valentine's Day is fast approaching (February 14th, to be exact), so you've got one week to get your orders in for Baby Valentine Gifts at Polka Dot Whale! We have so many sweet gifts for your sweet baby that are just right for a Valentine's Day treat this year!

January 21, 2009

Natalie's husband is popping in here today to post about Obama's Inauguration. Being a history buff, he was fascinated by these Wordle collages from our last 3 President's Inaugurations.

Here's His Post:

A quick follow-up from our last post. Here's another great example of fun with Wordle. Someone created word clouds from the inauguration speeches of Obama, Bush and Clinton. Fun to visually see the differences in tone/language. View original post here.

Obama

Bush W.

Clinton (2nd Term)

And as an aside...we did have fun with words this past election year. We only have one of these left in stock....so for anyone feeling a little nostalgic already from this past election:)

January 13, 2009

Now that Emme is starting to really use her "words" (the other day she said, "I don't know").....it reminded us of a fun web tool called Wordle. The tool takes a bunch of words or a website and creates "word cloud images" completely randomized.

This one is a cloud of our previous post "Merry Christmas from Polka Dot Whale:

This one is a cloud from all the different brands on the PolkaDotWhale website (love the BABY word placement here):

December 23, 2008

The year has almost come to an end and, as usual, is all a wonderful blur.... We have been busy at home, at work and with family, busy raising Emme and busy running Polka Dot Whale. There are many highlights of 2008, but I thought that I would share a few with my loyal blog readers;)

2. Easter and Spring Training Baseball at my brother's home in Arizona--how can you not have fun in super warm Spring weather & great big house full of family (5 kiddos, 5 adults and an English Bulldog_?

3. Summer at the JCC Swimming Pool--we had a ball splashing around with Emme all summer in the baby pool and meeting up with my mom-friend Jill and Emme's buddy Evan!

4. Moving out of our 1-Bedroom Condo and experiencing the joy of a backyard with a toddler--enough said!

5. (Almost weekly) Playdates and shopping/lunch meetups with some of the very bestfriends a little girl and her mama could ask for--we love you Jill & Evan, Penny & William and Laura & Anabelle!

7. Finding Studio Schoolhouse for Emme and knowing that Miss Naraki takes care of Emme like I would, inspires her creativity, teaches her to have great virtues and showers her with love!

8. Rekindling my passion for helping abused and neglected children find safe, loving and permanent homes by getting my fanny back to work in September!

9. Watching my family be the best we can be as we gathered together in Sacramento, CA over Thanksgiving '08 to support my sister, brother-in-law and nephew when Russell was suddenly & shockingly diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma...if you aren't already, watch this little guy and our family fight Burkitt's by following Russell's blog at www.boywonder.blogspot.com!

10. Preparing for Christmas with my daughter in mind...Children make the whole world new again!

December 14, 2008

A friend just forwarded me the link to a cool new Toy Rental Service called Rent A Toy.com... What a great holiday gift idea for any family with young children! The Rent A Toy package offers a Netflix-like service whereby the family selects a list of toys to be sent to their home, kept for about 30 days and returned with prepaid postage, only to have a new toy sent in its place. Free Delivery! No Late Fees! Free Return Postage! The various plans allow for 2-6 toys at a time. All the best name brand toys are offered and listings are provided by age group (birth to 8 years old) to make "shopping" for your rental toys very easy. Here's why I think Rent-A-Toy is such a great idea:

As parents (especially first-time parents) we buy lots of toys and spend a lot of money buying those toys. Many such toys are quickly rendered useless and begin to take up space and collect dust throughout the home, eventually making their way to boxes that pile up in the garage.

It is hard to know what the little one is going like, or what they may initially like and grow tired of, not to mention quickly GROW OUT OF. If Johnny happens to fall in LOVE with a particular rented toy, simply contact the company and let them know you'd like to purchase and keep that toy. If Susie manages to damage a toy (or the dog gets a hold of it--not that this would happen at our house;)), simply return the damaged toy and Rent A Toy will charge you wholeage cost of the needed parts or for toy replcement.

It really is best for children to not be a surrounded by hundreds of toys at a time and to have their toys rotated to constantly stimulate and interest them with something new to explore.

Rent A Toy Program is also ideal for those living in urban small spaces or a small space anywhere. Having a lived with a little one in a very small condo, I can see the value of being able to provide my daughter with lots of toys, just not all at the same time, taking up precious space in my home.

December 07, 2008

We have a December packed with fun holiday activities on the calendar! Emme is lucky to participate in fun activities everyday at her pre-school celebrating the holidays and at our Mommy & Me program, too. It is wonderful to celebrate with her this year, as she is so much more aware and is excited by the holiday sights, sounds and tastes:) Tonight brought her first taste of a candy cane, which came after a photo op on Santa's lap! We have begun a new family tradition this year with a trip to the Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train. Holiday lights and decor fill the park and the usual train is decked out for a holiday ride to visit with Santa. The wait was a little long for the train and for Santa, but well worth the wait! It was a wonderful night with friends and the beginning of a special holiday tradition!

The rest of the month includes a Christmas Craft Party with the cousins, a Hanukkah Party & Concert by Emme's beloved HamoRobyn, a trip for holiday activities at Knott's Berry Farm and a Sweet Swap Playdate with "mom friends" and their babes! I have been searching online for fun local activities and many are very low (and even FREE) for families with kids! Check out what's going on in your area, from parades to "snow days" (for warm climates), to holiday craft parties put on by your city!

December 03, 2008

Christmas and Hanukkah are right around the corner! I was feeling like I still had some time until the fun holiday art projects started streaming in from school....Goodness Gracious! I broke down and picked up some wrapping paper and ribbons today and a Wilton Gingerbread House Kit from Michael's to make with Emme. I have been collecting gifts for Emme for several months, knowing the economy was taking a nose dive and that I'd be busy with work and the business some December. There isn't too much to do, but shop for some family members and maybe plan a fun holiday get together for Emme and her friends--maybe a Sweet Swap for the mommies while the kiddos play;)

Our next job is to figure out what to do about a Christmas Tree! We live in a larger house this year, so we could actually have an average-sized tree, but aren't even sure what our Christmas plans are yet. In the past, I had a little faux tree with lights that was 3 feet tall and could sit on a bookcase....it worked our perfectly for our little condo and would even make me happy enough this year. Unfortunately, it was one of those last lingering items in the garage when we moved and my husband said, "Oh gosh, can't you just get a real tree or something next year?" I gave in and tossed my little tree. Here we arrived at "next year" and I'm thinking that going out a buying a tree and lights, etc. isn't really on top of his personal list of things to do! I'll keep you posted on the Christmas Tree as Christmas approaches:)

I last posted about my favorite gifts under $30 at Polka Dot Whale! Today, I am posting about some of my favorite holiday gifts for babies and toddlers that didn't make it into my last gift guide! One of my favorite all around baby gifts I have some of the cutest pics of Emme wrapped up in Mullins Square towels as a baby. She still enjoys her towels everyday as do many of our friend's children. Mullins Square towels are our favorite gift to give to personal friends and family because it is fun & functional! We all need great hooded towels for our little ones, especially hooded towels that are large enough to last up to 4 years of age. You cannot say that about most hooded towels on the market, but you can say it about Mullins Square!

One of my personal favorite treats for moms is the line of diaper attaches from Pineapple Cove. Whether you select a diapers and wipes case or one of the changing kits, you are selecting a practical gift that is also very classy and luxurious. These are the very best diapers and wipes cases on the market when you are looking for distinctive design and quality. The silk diaper wallets are so fun for dressy events and to keep in your nice handbag. So many moms are choosing to poo-poo the diaper bag (pun intended;)) and stick with a classy larger handbag and use something like the diaper wallets and Infant and Toddler Change Systems by Pineapple Cove!

November 23, 2008

The elves (and I) have been busy gearin' up for busy weeks ahead in the Polka Dot Whale workshop! Check out my latest Polka Dot Whale Holiday Gift Guide featuring some of our hottest-selling baby items, all under $30....great gifts, great stocking stuffers, great treats for you and your baby! Enjoy!

November 16, 2008

The holidays are fast approaching and the malls are starting to get a little crowded! I love a good shopping trip on a quiet weekday, but with this almost-two-year-old in tow, I am finding it harder and harder to actually "shop" when making a trip to the mall! Lunch, cupcakes, balloons, a spin on the carousel and playtime and Pottery Barn Kids--"Yes!", but holiday shopping for friends and family--"No!" This too shall pass, but in the meantime, I'm going to do my shopping online (from home) this year. Polka Dot Whale is offering some great savings promotions throughout the season. Sign up for our emails to get the inside scoop on Holiday Promotions at Polka Dot Whale !

My Advice: Do your shopping from home this holiday season and save yourself the trouble of braving the ZOO at the mall....Why not go to the actual zoo, like we did last weekend! Here we are at the Los Angeles Zoo....

November 11, 2008

My Emme cannot get enough of pretend kitchen play! I didn't expect it to come on so strong until she was a little older, but it is her favorite part of our Mommy & Me classroom and she looks to be near me in the kitchen, digging in the drawers and playing with pots, pans, cups, plates...pretty much anything she can get her little hands on! I've been agonizing over what might be the best kitchen for her to receive on Christmas morning this year and have managed to narrow it down to my top 3 choices of Play Kitchens for Toddlers and Preschoolers! I prefer a wood set, with a little retro feel to it and some good spots for storing all of those play kitchen accessories. And, I also prefer a budget friendly alternative to the Holy Grail of Retro Wooden Play Kitchens at Pottery Barn Kids that will set the not-so-budget-concerned Santa Claus back $600+ this holiday season...WOWZER!

October 29, 2008

Emme hosted her first little Halloween Haunt party last Saturday and it was so much fun to watch the tiny tots galavanting around in their Halloween Costumes! We munched on the cutest little spiderweb cupcakes, pumpkin petit fours, and funny themed snack foods, like "monster mix" and "boo berries" while the kids played with Mr. Potato Head Pumpkins and made Halloween magnets. There is nothing like a breezy Fall day filled with pumpkins, home-made goodies and friends! This time of year always makes me want to have a party and having a little one sure gives me more reason to enjoy Halloween:)

Emme was adorable in her Prissy Poof Ladybug ensemble. Prissy Poofs creates some of the fluffiest, most creative tu-tu creations that I have ever seen! Emme seemed so comfortable in her Prissy Poof costume, she has probably logged about 8 hours in it so far and I have a suspicion she'll be enjoying this tu-tu in dress up play in the years to come! To really jazz up the outfit, I purchased this crystal-studded ladybug onesie from Tu Chae on Etsy and had to have the black and red striped Baby Legs! Here she is celebrating in fine ladybug fashion!If you're looking to get a jump start on your holiday baby gift shopping and are hoping to catch some early-bird deals, get to Polka Dot Whale. Enter Coupon Code TREAT 08 thru Midnight October 31, 2008 and you'll receive 25% off your entire order (new and sale merchandise included)!

October 24, 2008

I've noticed new pics popping up everywhere of some of our favorite celebrity moms toting their babies around wearing Trumpette socks! We've got the best selection at Polka Dot Whale and I have to say, the Prince and Princess styles are brand new, hard-to-find, and flying out the door the fastest this Fall! We've spotted Tori Spelling and Jamie Lynn Spears with their baby girls donning the all-time best-selling Pastel Maryjane Socks by Trumpette.

We've also got the latest styles by Diapees & Wipees including the Punk Skulls in pink and blue and the Wallflowers pattern in sky and cherry. Both are really hip and designer looking. Gwen Stefani received the Punk Skulls Diapees & Wipees and Cuddlee Wuddlees baby blanket for her newest baby boy, Zuma this summer. I love their blankets just as much as I love their original diapers and wipes cases. The newest use I have found found for the Diapees and Wipees is to put a couple of diapers and travel wipes into the case and toss it in Emme's little pre-school size backpack that she has been toting around these days. No more diapers in mommy's bag and she's always got an emergency change ready anywhere she goes!